Russia celebrates Easter as Holy Week draws to an end

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill during the Easter service in Christ the Savior Cathedral. (RIA Novosti/Sergey Pyatakov) / RIA Novosti

Over 300,000 people have visited Moscow’s churches and monasteries over the Easter weekend in Russia. Police patrols were on alert to prevent breaches of peace and crime, with over 6,000 officers deployed to guard the city’s monasteries and churches.

A group of pilgrims have also delivered the Holy Fire from the
Old City of Jerusalem to the Russian Cathedral of Christ the
Savior. It is lit each year at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in
Jerusalem on the day preceding Orthodox Easter. Tens of thousands
of pilgrims visited Jerusalem on Saturday to observe the ‘Holy Fire’ ceremony.

The Holy Fire has been perceived by generations of Orthodox
believers as a miracle. It’s through divine intervention that the
first flame comes to life, the faithful believe. Pilgrims say it
doesn’t burn in the first minutes after it has been lit. Parts of
the Holy Fire are ‘spread out’ between churches across the country,
placed in torches akin to those used to transport the Olympic
Flame.

After parishioners lit the candles from the Holy Fire, Kirill
started the procession around the cathedral, glorifying the
Resurrection. Priests and believers carrying crosses and icons get
going around the church. The procession climaxed when the Patriarch
announced “Christ is risen!”, meaning the Holy Day has
started.

After midnight and for the next 40 days after Easter Sunday,
Orthodox Christians will be greeting each other with the words
"Christ is risen!" expecting the reply "He is risen indeed!" The
end of the short dialogue is celebrated by three traditional
kisses.

The festivities at the Christ the Savior Cathedral where
attended by President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry
Medvedev, and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.

Christians celebrate Easter to mark the resurrection of Jesus
Christ on the third day after his crucifixion. The Resurrection of
the Savior symbolizes his victory over sin and death.

Preparations for Easter celebrations begin on the last day of
the Holy Week, known in Russia as Passion Week. On Holy Saturday
believers come to churches to have their paschal cakes and eggs
blessed by priests.

Easter is preceded by a long period of fasting. Believers
abstain from meat, fish, eggs and dairy products for 48 days,
spending time in prayer.

The real challenge is to help people refine their souls and learn
to restrain desire.

Russians celebrate the end of Lent by painting colorful eggs – as a
rule red, as a symbol of the blood of Christ - they exchange with
each other, and preparing rich Easter cakes with raisins and
nuts.

Easter is a moveable feast. Eastern and Western Christianity base
their calculations on different calendars. The former uses Julian
calendar, the latter Gregorian, so their Easter days differ.

Last year it was marked by the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic,
Protestant and Anglican churches on the same day, which happens
quite rarely.

In 2012 nearly half a million Muscovites flocked to the country's
churches to take part in evening and night services across the
Russian capital. The largest service drew 6,000 people and was held
at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Patriarch Kirill, who heads
the Russian Orthodox Church, led the Easter service in Moscow's
landmark Cathedral.